Loubna Messaoudi on the origins of BIWOC* Rising and EquiNet.

As the only exclusive intersectional workspace and community space of its kind in Germany—and across Europe—we see ourselves as a best-practice example of a new work culture: inclusive, supportive, critical of power structures, and future-oriented.
BIWOC* Rising arose from a very specific need: the desire for a secure workplace. After more than 20 years of professional experience in Germany, I was missing a crucial experience—namely, working in an environment where I felt truly seen, respected, and protected. So I decided to create just such a space myself. First for myself. And then for my peer community.

A laboratory for intersectional justice in the workplace

What began as a personal need quickly evolved into a larger vision: a place where we can collectively explore what fair, inclusive, and discrimination-sensitive work cultures look like in practice. A true laboratory for intersectional justice in the workplace.

Unfortunately, existing power structures are repeatedly reproduced in new work cultures: patriarchal, capitalist, racist. This was also evident in the supposedly progressive coworking scene: in 2019, there were over 150 coworking spaces in Berlin – most of them founded by and designed for men. While some spaces with feminist or anti-racist approaches existed, there was no place that consistently put the lived realities of women, trans , intersex , and non-binary people of color at the center.
It became clear to me: a truly inclusive work culture doesn’t yet exist. It has to be actively built.

Intersectionality – a strong foundation

Intersectional justice is our foundation. We address diverse realities: sometimes focusing on single parents, sometimes on newly arrived BIWoC (people of color), sometimes on aspiring entrepreneurs or freelancers. We always keep the various social intersections in mind. Our services are needs-based, community-oriented, and intersectionally designed.
BIWOC* Rising was therefore consciously founded as a non-profit social enterprise. Our focus is on economic participation, professional self-realization, and financial empowerment for women, trans , intersex , and non-binary people of color.
We understand work as inseparable from classism, racism, sexism, and economic exclusion.
From the beginning, it was clear: this is about more than a physical space.
It’s about fundamental questions like:

• Why do marginalized people find it so difficult to access professional networks?
• Why are their qualifications systematically devalued?
• Why are so many migrants affected by poverty in old age?
• What role do unpaid care work, lack of recognition of qualifications, and structural discrimination play?

We consciously extend the topics of safer work spaces and anti-discrimination beyond our community. Through anti-bias and transformation programs, we support startups, social enterprises, and SMEs in building fair, diverse, and sustainable work structures. Because true sustainability is impossible without social justice.

EquiNet: Spaces for encounter and change

With our new project EquiNet, we connect all these pillars: We empower BIPoC entrepreneurs and work simultaneously with companies in the dominant society on structural change. We create spaces where these diverse stakeholders can meet, learn from each other, and forge new paths together. In this way, a diverse, inclusive, and solidarity-based ecosystem emerges step by step – supported by community, collaboration, and the deep conviction that a just economy is possible.